All of these public servants have encouraged me to ask for assistance when needed. I have done so and they have responded, unified and are ready. In less than a week after my request for assistance, I met with each one of them to ask them to join me in coalescing around our challenges.

Scott and I had an extensive discussion for 40 minutes in Sheriff Mike Scott's office which contributed to a plan of action to keep Fort Myers safe. Also present in the meeting were interim Fort Myers Police Chief Dennis Eads, Lee County Tax Collector and former Fort Myers Police Chief Larry Hart, State Attorney Steve Russell, Benacquisto, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement top leadership, Clawson's senior chief of staff Pat Cauley, and a host of others. I want to thank Scott for his alert accommodation to assist me in meeting with the governor.

Clawson arrived from Washington, D.C. a few days after my meeting with Scott. Fort Myers councilman Forrest Banks and Clawson rode patrol with Sgt. Eric Gutridge late on a Friday night to make observations and see first-hand some of the troubled areas in Fort Myers. Clawson spent hours getting up to speed from ground zero. On Oct. 29, Cauley and Clawson field representative and caseworker Rickey Nelson met with interim city manager Saeed Kazemi, city attorney Grant Alley and I. Joining via conference call from Washington were two other staff members and from south Lee County, Clawson's deputy chief of staff Peter Simmons. In addition, Fitzenhagen’s district aid Melissa Thompson joined us at city hall, participating in charting a course for grant funding to aid law enforcement efforts including installation of cameras and more.

In the meantime, Eads and Scott have arrested, as of this writing, 75 violent criminals with multi-felony records. Our efforts are ongoing and will be for a long time to come. This will make a substantial difference.